Crackers & Breads Without Nutritional Yeast or Nama Shoyu

[baltochef]

Greetings!!

I've been looking at cracker & bread recipes on this & other forums over the past several days trying to come up with some recipes that I might like to try for myself..Recipes that I've made in the past haven't really lit my taste buds up, although several have appealed to others, even a few SAD eaters..Two ingredients that I've noticed that seem to be common in many of these recipes is nutritional yeast & nama shoyu..I am trying to eliminate both of these products from my diet..As well as reduce my intake of manufactured salt..

How important are these ingredients in determining the final taste outcome of a raw cracker or bread??..Has anyone else been successful in creating crackers & breads without these ingredients??..And with reduced amounts of salt??..

Thanks for any & all responses..

Bruce

[Eva]

I NEVER use nama shoyu when it's called for with crackers. I just sub some celtic sea salt. If you're looking to rid yourself of salt, perhaps going with other spices will help. For example, I sometimes do a cracker with pineapple, cayenne and parsley. I don't put much salt because it already has the other stuff in it.

I don't usually even follow recipes anymore for crackers because I find that playing with flavors I like in somewhat unusual mixes. I also use dill, fennel, garlic, onions frequently in the mixes that I don't use much salt in. I have forgotten salt on occasion, and it's been perfectly fine.

As a chef, I'm sure you are great at mixing items in fun ways. Crackers are generally pretty forgiving if the mixes aren't just right, too.

I have no idea re: the breads as I usually don't make them. It's just sooooo easy to make the crackers that I don't bother with some of the other stuff when I'm in a hurry. :)

[Banshee]

I use nutritional yeast, but namu shoyu and Bragg's aminos I find revolting! I leave out of any recipe, and I rarely use salt.

I've had much luck making things with veggies and garlic and onion for flavor (and spices and herbs). I've also made flax crackers using only flax...they were totally fine, and bland enough to let the flavors of my dip or spread come through but offering a nice crunch.

Experiment, good luck!!

[baltochef]

Eva

I prefer raw crackers over raw breads myself, having made very few breads..Even chefs get into mental roadblocks regarding recipes, which is where I currently find myself with crackers..Most of the recipes that I've tried in the past have been out of various raw cookbooks, usually with my own spin on the recipe..Like I said, some came out OK & others I didn't particularly care for.. So I've been perusing forums looking for ideas..Any suggestions??..

Banshee

I too find the taste & smell of Bragg's Liquid Aminos revolting..Nama shoyu I like the taste of, but I've stopped purchasing it due to the salt & wheat content..What's the deal on nutritional yeast??..I've never tasted it..What purpose does it serve in a recipe??..What does it add to a recipe as far as flavor(s), texture, & nutrition are concerned that is not available in raw fruits or vegetables??..

Thanks, Bruce

[SuzyQ]

The short answer is nutritional yeast adds a cheese flavor. Many vegans use it on top of hot rice or noodles to get a non-dairy cheese flavor.

[lafsalot]

Here's one you might just like http://rawfoodtalk.com/showthread.php?t=19073&highlight=ritz+crackers ~ Cathy

[Eva]

Bruce -- Another thing about nutritional yeast is that it often has B12 that is *supposedly* usable added to it. I don't know if I give any worth to that, but I do know that Nama Shoyu and Braggs make me feel awful. Nutritional Yeast does not. I only use it occasionally, but it seems fine to use. I guess it's living but not raw (like kombucha tea)...

And it really does add the rich, cheesy flavor to food.

As for recipes (all using soaked flax crackers as a base), I have tried mixes of various bell peppers, red and green cabbage, onions, parsley, basil, garlic, and all sorts of other ingredients. I wish that I had been a good notetaker, but I really haven't. Nothing ends up inedible. I have a good enough feel for the tastes that, at worst, it's just not that good. I think I've made at least 40 different combinations. My mom has been visiting for the last 6 months (although she's gone now), and we've had all sorts of fun experimenting.

Oooooh, a good one I just remembered: cinnamon, banana! or orange and banana. These are great for a sweet snack. You just squish a ripe banana to use as a topping. Mmmmm.

Ah, another great mix I tried once was: red pepper, green pepper, corn, onions, garlic, salt. That seems like it would still be good without much salt. It's great with guacamole.

You could also try adding ACV or lemon juice to your recipes. That should help!

[Banshee]

I know nutritional yeast is supposed to add a "cheesy" flavor, but I usually don't get that (unless I add salt too), at least at the levels I'm using (maybe too low?). But I do find that it is somewhat savory and acts like a flavor enhancer to other things I might add to a recipe.

I recently used it in a flax cracker with sea salt and garlic, and it was delicious, enhanced the garlic and salt and added a bit of savory to the boring flax cracker--which I'm becoming a huge fan of because its so boring its versatile.

[juliebove]

I make the onion bread and just add a pinch of Celtic sea salt for the nama shoyu. It comes out great!

[StarFire]

Hey bruce...!!! I make the onion bread recipe without salt or nama shoyu for one of my clients. It still tastes wonderful. Infact - she has to have limited oils also - so I leave the olive oil out of that recipe. I add in a little water for the moisture needed.

I do add in a handful of sunflower seeds along with the 1 cup of ground sunflower seeds that recipe calls for.

When I went to class at Alissa's -- there was one gal there who could not have any nama shoyu -- so Alissa tweaked every recipe (made them without the nama shoyu - and everything still tasted great).

If you don't have the onion bread recipe - let me know -- I'll post it!

RAWk on!

http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s43/FireStar_830/grin.gif

[jacsam]

Look in Alissa's book for some great recipes and Ani Phyo has a great bread/cracker recipe in her book called Black sesame bread....it's my new favorite raw bread/cracker recipe.

[baltochef]

Thanks for all the replies!!..

Soooooo, My next question is "Is nutritional yeast raw??"..I'm guessing not??..

StarFire--I'd love to have your modified onion bread recipe..Onions are one of my favorite foods..

Eva--Can you give me a better idea of the ingredient list for the sweet cracker recipe??..What did you use as a base to hold the fruits together??..It must have been something with a fairly neutral taste??..

lafsalot--Thanks for the link..That's the recipe I copied yesterday & made today only using pecans instead of walnuts..It's dehydrating as I write this..Along with a "Cheeze-Its" recipe that I also made today, only without the nutritional yeast..

jacsam--I don't have Alissa's book, nor can I afford to purchase anything but essentials at this time..I'll try & see if the library has it available to borrow..I'd really like to take a look at it..

Bruce

[Eva]

Bruce -- oh my, I'm so sorry, I should have shared that all of those, I just use soaked flax seeds to hold everything together. Sometimes, for the health benefits and more "floury" taste, I also grind flax seeds as well. When I do this, it's about 1 cup ground flax for every 2 cups soaked flax.

[Snoozy]

For example, I sometimes do a cracker with pineapple, cayenne and parsley. I don't put much salt because it already has the other stuff in it.




Eva, do you just do pineapple, cayenne and parsley? Is it like a leather? Or are you saying that those are your seasonings that you add to flax crackers or something?

[Eva]

For all of my crackers, I use soaked flax seeds as a base. :)

[Snoozy]

Here's a recipe for a GREAT bread. It's not any harder than crackers really, just cut it in bigger pieces after you flip it (I think this recipe makes 9 slices). Then I made sandwiches with spinach, tomato and avocado - it was SO great to eat a sandwich again!

I think I got it from the Sunny Raw Kitchen website. Everyone I gave some to likes this one!

Tomato Herb Bread
Posted by RawGuru in his latest newsletter

1 cup almond flour
1 cup sunflower seeds
3 tbs. flax seed meal (I doubled the amount)
½ apple (chopped)
1 fresh tomato
2 tbs. avocado oil (olive oil works fine!)
1 teaspoon Himalayan Crystal Salt
2 teaspoons Wild Tomato Concentrate (I just used more sun dried tomatoes)
½ cup soaked sun dried unsalted tomatoes
1 clove garlic
½ cup parsley
1 teaspoon dry Italian herb seasoning
1 tbs. lemon juice

In a food processor or high speed blender, grind the almonds and sunflower seeds until fine. Set aside in a large mixing bowl.

In a blender, add the rest of the ingredients and blend till thick. Add this mixture into the nut/seed flour. Stir everything with a wooden spoon or by hand. The dough should be pliable and elastic. Add more flax seed meal if you think it's necessary.

Line a few dehydrator trays with teflex sheets and spread a thin layer of the dough with a spatula. Make it about 1 inch in height. (!?!) Using a butter knife cut through the dough to form 9-10 squares. Dehydrate for 3 hrs. and remove from the teflex sheet and place on the mesh sheets. Dehydrate for 8 hrs or until firm.

Carmella's Notes:
This bread tastes totally awesome, however, it needs a little tweaking. Nothing that can't be easily overcome though! I don't know if I did something wrong here (all I can think of is that I used left-over almond pulp instead of almond flour), but it did not yield a lot of dough at all. There is no way you could spread the dough an inch thick and fill several trays like the recipe suggests! I also ended up adding some of the soak water in order to make the dough more manageable and still, it just barely filled a single tray, spreading the batter more like a 1/4 inch thick. In any case, I'd strongly recommend doubling the recipe to make it worth your while. It's so delish, you won't regret it!